THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF CHARLES DARWIN

[Janelle MacDonald]

and confirmed in the Church of England. In her youth religion must have largely filled her life, and there is evidence in the papers she left that it distressed her in her early married life to know that my father did not share her faith. She wrote two letters to him on the subject. He speaks in his autobiography of 'her beautiful letter to me, safely preserved, shortly after our marriage'.

T.A.C.D. Q

[page] 240

NOTE FIVE

On Charles Darwin's Ill-Health

HEALTH ANXIETIES haunt the pages of the Autobiography, yet Charles Darwin's many medical advisers never reached definite conclusions as to the cause of his long bouts of illness. No diagnosis was ever made of a causal organic disorder. Since his death biographers and doctors alike have discussed the emphasis on ill-health, so apparent in his own personal writings and in those of Emma his wife, but there remains no concensus of opinion as to the cause of his symptoms. The nausea, giddyness, insomnia and debility from which he suffered, follow the now familiar pattern of the ills of other eminent Victorians, with the Victorian Hydropathic Establishment, the sofa and the shawl as characteristic hall-marks. Charles Darwin's forty years of invalid existence, moreover, were an unexpected sequel to his youthful vigour, for his strength and endurance were well above the average, as Captain Fitz-Roy has recorded in his accounts of various incidents during the Beagle Voyage.

Yet health anxieties did trouble Charles Darwin even in the early days before the voyage, so that his marriage to a deeply sympathetic wife can hardly have done

[page] 241 CHARLES DARWIN'S ILL-HEALTH

more than increase a deep-seated tendency. Her over-solicitude helped to cast that faint aura of glory on the Symptom, an attitude that was carried on into adult life by several of their children.

Many theories have been put forward to account for Darwin's years of suffering, ranging from the possibility of appendicitis, a duodenal ulcer, pyorrhea, or the damaging effects of sea-sickness during the voyage; but recent emphasis has been in the direction of neurotic or psychotic causes.

I am not qualified to discuss these different points of view, but I give references and very brief summaries for those who may want to explore this field further.

[Janelle MacDonald]

1. ALVAREZ, Walter C., M.D., Nervousness, Indigestion and Pain. Paul B. Hoeber Inc. Medical Book Department of Harper Bros., New York and London. 7th printing. 1947.

Dr. Alvarez examines the symptoms of Darwin's illness, and deduces from the fact that no physician could discover any organic source, that "his troubles were functional and due to an inherited peculiarity of the nervous system." He found evidence of psychological instability among his ancestors, and concludes that he had a "poor nervous heredity on both sides."

2. BARLOW, N. Lancet, i, 1954, p. 414. (See also 3(a) and 4, (c) and (d.)

3. GOOD, Dr. Rankine. (a) Lancet, i, 1954, p. 106. Also (b) "The Origin of the Origin." Biology and Human Affairs, Oct. 1954.

Dr. Good kindly let me read his typescript entitled "The

[page] 242 NOTES

Psychology of the Revolutionary," before it appeared in shorter form in Biology and Human Affairs.

Dr. Good finds that Charles Darwin's illness "was compounded of depressive, obsessional, anxiety and hysterical symptoms, which for the most part co-existed…". He finds "evidence that unmistakably points" to these symptoms being a "distorted expression of the agression, hate, resentment, felt at an unconscious level, by Darwin towards his tyrannical father…" In Dr. Good's opinion, his forty years of ill-health were the punishment for his revolt.

4. HUBBLE, Dr. Douglas. (a) Lancet, 1943, i, p. 129. (b) Horizon, LXXX, 1946, p. 74. (c) Lancet, ii, 1953, p. 1351 (d) Lancet, i, 1954, p. 467.

In 1946 Dr. Hubble wrote:—"Charles Darwin's illness, then, arose from the suppression and non-recognition of a painful emotion. Such an emotion is always compounded of fear, guilt or hate…in Charles Darwin this emotion arose from his relationship with his father." In the last two references Dr. Hubble has added to this theme, and references 4, (c), entitled "The Life of the Shawl", gave rise to the discussion in the Lancet under the same title.

5. KEMPF, E. J. Psychopathology. London, 1921, p. 208.

[Janelle MacDonald]

Dr. Kempf takes Charles Darwin's medical history to show that affective cravings brought about by resistence to parental coercion cause after-anxiety; these demonstrate the mechanisms, in his view, "of the prolonged struggles to sublimate affective needs." Dr. Kempf stresses the loss of Charles's mother, who died when he was eight years old. Kempf also stresses Dr. Robert Darwin's authoritarian attitude towards his family, noting at the same time his unusual insight in dealing with patients. Kempf says:—"he practised the present psycho-analytical principle of inducing an affective catharsis and readjustment in his

[page] 243 CHARLES DARWIN'S ILL-HEALTH

patients as a method of treating the distress caused by affective suppression-anxiety."

It seems as though the last word has not yet been written on the problem of Charles Darwin's ill-health. One thing is clear; he realised with deep insight how his own profit and loss account stood when he wrote near the end of the Autobiography:—"Even ill-health, though it has annihilated several years of my life, has saved me from the distractions of society and amusement."

[page] 244

NOTE SIX

Page and line references to the more important previously omitted passages

Minus numerals indicate lines from bottom of page

p. 21, line -5 to line -2. "I have heard … my case.
p. 22, line 6 to line 10. "I believe … invalid state."
p. 22, line 12 to line 14. "Before going … plan answered."
p. 22, line -10 to line -4. "Caroline was … she might say."
p. 24, line 1 to line -8. "About this time … run so fast!"
p. 30, line 7 to p. 31, line 3. "My Father … patient bled."
p. 31, line 12 to p. 32, line 2. "Family quarrels … ever afterwards."
p. 33, line 12 to line -8. "A connection … least know."
p. 43, line 1 to line 4. "nor to my … whole lives."
p. 43, line 9 to line 12. "The above sketch … no merit."
p. 45, line 5 to line 8. "Some of … distinguished."
p. 48, line -5 to line -4. "but was superficial … tongue."
p. 53, line -10 to line -9. "He had … gentleman."
p. 57, line 9 to line 14. "It never struck … incredible."
p. 66, line -1 to p. 67, line 4. "At first … humour."
p. 73, line 11 to line 14. "This was shown … offended him."
p. 73, line -12 to line -6. "The junior … common sense."
p. 73, line -2 to line -1. "For when … unreasonable."
p. 74, line -12 to p. 76, line -7. "I remember … appearance."
p. 76, line -5 to line -4. "though … blemishes."
p. 79, line 4 to line 6. "The primeval … civilised man."


[page] 245 NOTES

[Janelle MacDonald]

p. 84, line 6. "facile … botanicorum."
p. 85, line -10 to line -5. "from its manifestly … barbarian."
p. 86, line -12 to line -8. "Beautiful … allegories."
p. 87, line 4 to line 11. "and have never … doctrine."
p. 87, line -1. "Everything … laws."
p. 90, line 14 to line -11. "A being … endless time?"
p. 90, line -1 to p. 91, line 8. "But it cannot … to arise."
p. 93, line 10 to p. 93, line -1. "May not these … a snake."
p. 94, line 5 to p. 96 line 12. "A man who has no assured … Redeemer liveth."
p. 96, line -9 to p. 98 line 3. "You all know … sweet ways."
p. 100, line -14 to line -11. "On such … standing up."
p. 101, line 4 to line -15. "He had … strength failed."
p. 102, line 9 to p. 103 line -14. "All the leading … glory."
p. 103, line -12 to line -10. "And before … morning."
p. 103, line -8 to line -7. "He never … biology."
p. 104, line 4 to line 6. "who was … five years,"
p. 104, line 6 to line 13. "I suppose … this country."
p. 104, line -10 to p. 107 line 7. "He was rather … mankind."
p. 107, line -14 to line -8. "He was very … dirty."
p. 108, line 1 to p. 109 line -11. "I used to call … speaking of H. Spencer."
p. 110, line 5 to line 6. "H. Spencer … of it!"
p. 110, line 13 to line -15. "What he … conversation."
p. 111, line -2 to p. 112, line 4. "I met … very premature."
p. 112, line 6 to line 10. "I have heard … whom I knew,"
p. 114, line -1 to p. 115 line 1. "Who never … they can."
p. 115, line 14 to line -6. "Whilst I was … children."
p. 125, line -1 to p. 126, line 4. "I must, however … lawyer."
p. 129, line 15 to line -15. "on the … Cucurbitacean plant."
p. 134, line -4 to p. 135 line 11. "Owing … Louse."
p. 144, line -15 to line -10. "I informed … be sold."
p. 145. The last sentence in italics.

[page 246]

[page 247]

INDEX

[page 248]

[page] 249

Abstract (Origin of Species), 121

Adams, Henry, 154

Adaptation, 119, 134

Aesthetic Tastes, 61, 62, 85, 138, 139

Agassiz, Jean Louis Rodolphe, 84

Ainsworth, William Francis, 48

Alvarez, Dr. Walter C., 241

Ancestry, 10

Ascension, 82

Athenaeum Club, 35

Audubon, John James, 51

Babbage, Charles, 108, 112, 113

Beagle, Journal of, 78, 81, 83, 91, 116, 226

Beagle, Voyage of, 44, 57, 60, 68, 71-82, 85, 100, 101, 116, 118, 159, 226-230

Bell, C., 132

[Janelle MacDonald]

Birth, 21

Blomefield, see Jenyns

Botany, 60, 64, 66, 103, 132-135, 219

Botanic Garden, 42

Brown, Robert, 84, 103, 127

Buckland, William, 102

Buckle, Henry Thomas, 109

Buffon, 151, 158

Bulwer, E. Lytton, 117

Butler, Dr., 25, 46

Butler, Samuel, 6, 134, 135, 167-219

Cambridge, 56-71;
shooting, 44, 45;
entered University, 58;
mathematics and classics, 58;
Paley, 59;
B.A. degree, 59;
sporting set, 60;
aesthetic tastes, 61, 62;
beetle-collecting, 62-64;
Prof. Henslow, 64-66, 68, 69, 72, 83

Cambridge University Library, 5, 6, 167, 171

Cape Verde Islands, 77, 81

Carlyle, Thomas, 43, 112, 113

Children, 10, 12, 96, 97, 114, 115, 131, 162, 163, 241

Church, destined for, 56, 57, 228, 229

Cirripedia, 117, 118

Classics, 58, 59

Climbing Plants, 129, 135, 151

Coldstream, Dr., 48, 49

Coleridge, S. T., 138, 150

Coral Reefs, 98, 116

Coral Reefs, 80, 84, 98, 99, 100, 141

Cross-fertilisation, 127, 133

[page] 250 INDEX

Darlington, C., 14, 98

Darwin, Annie, 10, 97, 98

Darwin, Caroline, 10, 22, 43, 54

Darwin, Catherine, 10, 22, 43

Darwin, Charles R., family tree, 10;
childhood, 21-28;
school life, 43-46;
Edinburgh, 46-53;
Cambridge, 56-71;
Beagle, 71-82;
marriage, 96;
Down, 96, 114

Darwin, Sir Charles Galton, 6

Darwin, Emma, 10, 12, 87, 93, 94, 96, 97, 235-239, 240

Darwin, Dr. Erasmus, 6, 10, 36, 42, 124, 134, 149-166, 223-225

Darwin, Erasmus Alvey, brother of Charles, 10, 42, 45, 87, 236

Darwin, Erasmus, uncle of Charles, 10, 225

Darwin, Francis, 5, 6, 10, 11, 12, 135, 162, 163, 171, 172, 215, 216

Darwin, George, 10, 163

Darwin, Henrietta, see Litchfield, Henrietta

Darwin, Horace, 10, 163

Darwin, Leonard, 10, 12

Darwin, Dr. Robert Waring, 10, 21, 28-42, 71, 72, 87, 95, 117, 136, 223-225, 226-230, 242

Darwin, Susannah, 10, 22

de Beaumont, Elie, 102

Descent of Man, 130, 131, 151

Different Forms of Flowers, 134

Dimorphic and trimorphic plants, 128, 133, 134, 143

Down House, 96, 114, 153

Edinburgh, 46-53, 58, 59

Effects of Cross and Self-Fertilization in the Vegetable Kingdom, 133, 135

Erewhon, 199

Expression of the Emotions in Man & Animals, 131

Evolution, 13, 49, 120-121, 131, 135, 149, 152-157

Eyton, T. C., 68

Falconer, Hugh, 105

Farrer, Euphemia (née Wedgwood), 110

Fawcett, Henry, 161

Fertilization of Orchids, 127, 133, 134, 135, 151

Fitzroy, Robert, 71-76, 79, 81, 226, 240

Flustra, 50, 51

Forbes, E., 125

Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Earthworms, 136

Fox, W. Darwin, 63

Fucus loreus, 50

Galapagos, 80, 118

Galton, Francis, 10, 43

Geological Observations, 83, 116

[page] 251 INDEX

Geological Society, 83, 99, 103, 114, 136

Geology, 52, 53, 60, 64, 68, 69, 70, 71, 77, 80, 81, 82, 99, 101, 102, 116, 119

Glen Roy, 84

Goethe, Johann Wolfgang, 113, 135, 211

Good, Dr. Rankine, 241, 242

Grant, Robert Edmund, 49, 51

Gray, Asa, 121, 125, 129, 160

Grote, George, 111, 113

Häckel, Ernst, 125

Halévy, Elie, 155

Henslow, John Stevens, 60, 64-66, 68, 69, 81, 83, 101, 129, 226

Herschel, Sir. J., 67, 107, 161

Heterostylism, see dimorphic and trimorphic plants

Hooker, Joseph, 82, 104, 105, 106, 115, 121, 122, 124, 125, 160, 162

Horner, Leonard, 52

Howard, Mary, 10, 223-225

[Janelle MacDonald]

Hubble, Dr. Douglas, 241

Humboldt, Baron A. von, 67, 103, 107

Huth, Mr., 143, 144

Huxley, Thomas Henry, 106, 115, 126, 135, 140, 171, 210-211

Hydropathic Establishments, 117, 122, 240

Ill Health, 79, 95, 96, 97, 115, 116, 117, 122, 127, 131, 144, 233, 237, 240-243

Insectiverous Plants, 132-133

Jameson, Professor, 50

Jenyns, Leonard, 66-67

Jones, Henry Festing, 172, 174-198

Kay-Shuttleworth, James Phillips, 51

Kempf, E. J., 242

Krause, Dr. Ernst, 134, 168-169, 176-186, 188, 189, 191, 193

Lamarck, 49, 100, 150, 152

Lansdowne, Marquis of, 34, 35

Leighton, Rev. W. A., 23

Life of Erasmus Darwin, 134, 153, 168, 169, 171, 172

Linnaeus, 151

Linnean Society, 11, 121, 128, 134, 156

Litchfield, Henrietta, 10, 12, 94, 203, 238

Litchfield, Richard, 135, 203, 208

London, 83, 96, 99

Lyell, Sir C., 35, 82, 83, 100-102, 112, 119, 121, 122, 124, 126, 153, 154, 160, 232

Macaulay, Thomas Babington, 111, 113

Macgillivray, William, 53

[page] 252 INDEX

Mackintosh, Sir James, 55, 66

Maer, 54, 55, 56, 68, 71, 82, 226

Malthus, Thomas Robert, 120, 155

Marriage, 96, 231-234, 240

Mathematics, 58

Mendelian Genetics, 13

Mental qualities, 136-141, 144

Miller, Prof. W. H., 83

Milnes, Richard Monckton, 112

Mivart, St. George Jackson, 126

Motley, John Lothrop, 111

Müller, Fritz, 125

Müller, Hermann, 134

Murchison, Roderick Impey, 102, 107

Natural Science, 49, 51, 52, 62, 68, 77, 80, 81, 141

Natural Selection, 87, 89-90, 119, 124, 152, 154, 156, 157

Newton, Alfred, 156-157

Origin of Species, 11, 13, 14, 76, 83, 93, 104, 118, 121, 122-126, 130, 140, 151, 152, 154, 167

Owen, Richard, 104

Owen, Mr., of Woodhouse, 54

Paley, Rev. William, 59, 87, 150

Pangenesis, 130

Patagonia, 80

Peacock, Mr., 226

Philosohpical Magazine, 70, 99

Philosophical Transactions, 84

Plymouth, 79

Pontobdella Muricata, 50

Power of Movement in Plants, 135, 151

Publications, 83, 84, 98, 99, 116-136

Ray Club, 64

Ray Society, 117

Religious Beliefs, 12, 85-96, 162

Reviews, 123, 125

Royal Society, 67

Sedgwick, Prof. Adam, 60, 69, 70, 81, 102, 226

Scott, Sir Walter, 52

Sexual selection, 131, 151

Shelburne, Lord, 34, 35

Shrewsbury, 21-28, 43-46, 47, 52, 69, 77, 79, 82

Simpson, G. G., 5

Slavery, 74

Smith, Sydney, 56, 110, 112

Species, 118, 119

Spencer, Herbert, 91, 108, 109, 162

Sprengel, Christian Konrad, 127

Stanhope, Lord (Fourth Earl), 112

Stanhope, Lord (Fifth Earl), 111

Stephen, Leslie, 135, 171, 212-215

Tierra del Fuego, 80, 126

[Janelle MacDonald]

page] 253 INDEX

Thompson, H., 63

Townsend, Rev., 155

Tyler, Edward Burnett, 91

Van Beneden, Professor, 144

Variation, 90, 130, 131, 152

Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication, 88, 127, 129, 151

Volcanic Islands, 116

Waddington, C., 14

Wallace, Alfred, 11, 121, 122, 124, 156, 157

Waterton, Charles, 51

Way, Albert, 63

Wedgwood, Emma, see Darwin, Emma

Wedgwood, Euphemia, see Farrer, Euphemia

Wedgwood, Hensleigh, 109

Wedgwood, Josiah, 10

Wedgwood, Josiah (son of potter), 10, 54, 55, 56, 71, 226-230

Wernerian Society, 50, 51

Whewell, William, 66, 104, 113

Whitley, C., 61

White's Selborne, 45

Wisdom, J. O., 153, 161

Wollaston, A. F. R., 156

Wonders of the World, 44

Writing, manner of, 137-138

Zoology, 52, 77

Zoology of the Voyage of the Beagle, 83, 99

Zoönomia, 49, 150, 151


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